Drawing a Blank
by ryder77
Summary: It is, but it isn't. It's up to Kallen to figure it out for herself. MAJOR SPOILERS FOR RE;SURRECTION


**Disclaimer**: Code Geass and its characters belong to Sunrise, Inc.

**WARNING! - WARNING! - WARNING! - WARNING! - WARNING!**

This story contains heavy **SPOILERS** for Re;surrection.

If you don't want to be spoiled before the film gets released on DVD and/or released Stateside (or elsewhere in the western hemisphere), stop reading right now.

I mean it. **SPOILERS**.

I have done my duty. If you end up disappointed because of the SPOILERS that comprised much of this story, you only have yourself to blame.

**-SPOILER WARNINGS END HERE-**

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A/N: One request to those who will be leaving reviews: keep spoilers out of your comments, please. If you really want to rant about the movie, PM me your comments instead. Thanks!

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"Lelouch...sama...?"

Sayoko was the one who voiced out what she wanted to say, but couldn't. She was too scaredー scared that the apparition before her would vanish once she did.

But should she be? After all, this couldn't possibly beー

"This _is_ Lelouch," C.C. supplied. "But at the same time, he's not."

_What...?l_

"Charles' Code somehow got transferred to him," C.C. explained once everyone was settled in their truck, and were moving away from the ruined hotel where they ran into each other. "He came back, but his soul remained in the world of C."

"I don't know what went wrong," she went on. "We've been trying to go there for the past year, but the thought elevators we tried so far aren't in working order."

"So you're in Zilkustan now since King Shario's family headed the cult in this region, and are hoping to find theirs is still working?" Kallen asked. To be honest, she was still trying to wrap her head around immortality being 'transferable', all while watching 'Lelouch'. All through C.C.'s explanation, he just sat there, mesmerized by the kaleidoscope he had with him. As if it was the only thing worth focusing on in this world.

_Not Lelouch,_ she reminded herself.

And yet...

"Yes," C.C. affirmed. "But like I said, I don't know what went wrong. In my case, I managed to return to my body on my own. It could have something to do with the attempt to kill God, but I can't guarantee he could be brought back."

_In other words,_ Kallen thought, _he'd be like this. Forever._

"Is this what Lelouch wanted?!"

She couldn't keep the tears from falling. The thought of Lelouch, her leader, her friend's mind was trapped somewhere while his body lived on like this... empty... thing.

_Blank._

"I'll admit I know that he didn't plan for this to happen," C.C. replied to her, solemnly. "But with Nunnally's safety being uncertain, I doubt he'd want to stay put when there's hope that he can help out.

That was true, she had to admit. Zero. The Black Rebellion. The United Federation of Nations. Zero Requiem.

It had all been for Nunnally.

"How can we help?"

-.o.O.o.-

As their journey wore on, Lelouch gradually got used to being around other people. Before, C.C. said, he didn't react to the looks that people were giving him while they traveled; just always walking toward whatever stimulus caught his interest. Now, he could be seen looking at their faces, though still without recognition, and would cower behind C.C. once he was noticed. Despite that progress, however, all the sounds he ever made were moans, grunts, and the occasional scream.

_He's like a little kid,_ Kallen reminded herself not for the first time since the duo joined their group. Still, it didn't help lessen the ache she felt every time he cowered from her. Back when he didn't have his memories in Babel Tower, he was still very much Lelouch, who wasn't disgusted with her when she spilled champagne on his clothes. Seeing him like this...!

She shut her eyes tight. He needs her now more than ever. To protect him, like she always had. Accepting this, she reopened her eyes.

"It's okay," she tried to reassure him in the same way she once saw Ohgi talk to his students. "You're safe with us." It was the truth, and she hoped she had conveyed it best she could.

She tried not to notice that he looked like he never believed her.

-.o.O.o.-

"Gotta hand it to whoever designed this system," came C.C.'s words. They were deep underground, in levels that went deeper than the underground prisons that were built into this ancient rock that served as Zilkustan's maximum security prison. It was easy enough to create the distraction they needed to pass the upper levels by releasing the inmates. The rest of the way, though, felt like and old-fashioned ancient ruins adventure movie. The platforms that led toward the thought elevator had just been revealed when the water in this chamber receded. "There's not a scratch on this one."

"So you two go in there," Kallen spoke, "try to find his soul, and come back out, right?"

"That's the gist of it. Though I have to tell you," C.C. quickly added, "time flows differently in the World of C. It could be a long while before we come back."

_If you come back,_ came the unbidden thought. She shook her head in an effort to banish it. "Alright. Sayoko and I'll try to keep any of the inmates from reaching this level. I hate to admit it, it's going to be tough to get back out of here with Zilkustan's military probably already on their way. So between you and me, I hope you two make it." She hazarded a look at Lelouch who sat in the middle of them, just as he was told to do whenever they stopped walking at any given time, and saw him looking back at her.

He wasn't looking away.

"It'll be okay, you'll see. C.C. will take good care of you..."

He was still looking at her.

"Don't look at me like that," she chided him, her voice breaking. This was goodbye, she knew. But this wasn't the Lelouch that she wasn't able to say goodbye to, was he? "Whatever happened to all that cowering you used toー"

She wasn't able to finish her sentence. She couldn't stop her tears.

He hadn't stopped looking at her!

She turned away, curling into a ball. Why was she feeling like this? Was it because she finally had a part in helping him out? Was it because she finally opened her heart to him properly, though he never understood them to reciprocate? Was it because she was finally getting closure, somehow?

She felt a hand on her head, in a reassuring gesture. She looked behind her to see who it was.

It was him.

She cried her heart out in his chest, and his hand didn't stop.

-.o.O.o.-

They were gone.

C.C. and Lelouch vanished when the door's glow faded. Sayoko left to see what they could arm themselves with, in case the inmates decided they wanted other playmates and sought them out.

She was alone.

She thought back to when she was crying against Lelouch's chest. Whether that was him or not, what happened was exactly what she needed. All the regrets she had from when he saved their group in Shinjuku up until his death, she let them all out. There weren't any words, but maybe there needn't have been. She was finally free.

She took one more gaze toward the intricate designs on the thought elevator. She had no idea what the two would be facing, but whatever happened, she hoped they'd make it back. She knelt down, folded her hands on her chest, and closed her eyes. She honestly hadn't prayed much, except on the few occasions when she managed to visit her brother's grave. This would be the first time she prayed like this for two still living.

_Come back safe, you two._

-.o.O.o.-

Bested in a knightmare. Again.

Captured. Again.

Bound and gagged on a metal surface. Again.

Any other girl in her position would probably be crying now, especially after all that talk of what the inmates were planning about her. She probably would, too, if she hadn't been so _angry!_

This wouldn't have happened if she was in the Guren, not that poorly maintained excuse for a desert knightmare. Honestly, her original red Glasgow performed way better.

In the next few moments, those guarding her began to drop like flies. Recognizing the weapon that happened to land on the neck of the one right in front of her, she breathed a sigh of relief.

"Kallen-sama, Lelouch-sama sends his regards."

Rescued by Sayoko on Lelouch's orders. Again.

-.o.O.o.-

He's back.

He's back!

He's BACK!

Battle over, bad guys subdued, Suzaku freed, they had control of the whole underground prison.

What else _would_ there be left to keep her mind busy with?

Finally making it to the control room, she didn't care who was watching when she made a beeline for Lelouch and glomped him. Never mind that they didn't end up on the floor, it was an actual, honest-to-goodness, glomp!

And probably the only one she'd ever do in her life on this earth.

Yup, this was definitely Lelouch. Clueless as ever. Probably didn't know what a glomp was for.

"Say, you seem different," she joked once she detached herself from him.

"Nonsense."

That was all it took for the two of them to fall back into their roles of strategist and ace, as if that was how it had always been.

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A/N:

WARNING! SPOILERS still to be seen from this point on.

So, I saw Re;surrection a total of... just once. The last full show on the last day it was being shown before Marvel began filling the Japanese box office. Did my best to pay attention to the whole thing despite being tired after a long day of work. I paraphrased much of C.C.'s lines here, but they're accurate as best I can recall.

To be honest, the conversation in the truck confused me a bit, since the names Shirley and Shario are very similar-sounding in Japanese diction. I was scratching my head for the rest of the movie on what part Shirley could possibly have in BK operations or terrorist activity? I admit I only extrapolated that they were actually talking about Shario once I read the character bios after the movie. Feel free to correct me in a PM so no spoilers would show up in the reviews.

Now, for my thoughts on the movie. It's a two-hour long "alternate ending", that let Lelouch keep a promise. Other than the dependence on the summary trilogy, it pretty much stands on its own, and looked pretty wrapped up. Can't think of how they'd write what comes after.

I'd like to think that blank!Lulu managed to bond with Kallen. Considering what trouble he'd been giving C.C., it was the only gesture he made that showed he was aware of other people. Makes me wonder, though, if they had a poll on which pairing they would end it with. Whatever. Kudos to the writers for letting Kallen have a line that made C.C. turn quiet for once.

I wish they decided on making it a series instead of this super-condensed narrative of a movie, since I found plenty of points that could've been explored for more character development. Plenty of anime with eight or ten episodes a season, right? Alas, it clearly wasn't meant to be.

So yeah, thanks for reading!

Once more, please leave spoilers out of the reviews (except maybe "How did you manage to find KaLulu in there?" to mean you liked this story)


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